1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to toy characters that have suction cups at their base. The present invention also relates to toy characters that are packaged in hard plastic capsules, such as those used in bulk vending machines.
2. Prior Art Description
Toy characters that have suction cup bases have been sold commercially for much of the past century. The use of a suction cup at the bottom of the character enables the character to be anchored to any smooth surface. Accordingly, toy character with suction cup bases are commonly sold as bathtub toys or window decorations. An early toy characters with a suction cup base is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 1,710,989 to Kelly, entitled Clinging Figure. A modern example of a toy character with a suction cup base is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,264,524 to Crane, entitled Toy Figure With Removable Suction Cup.
Likewise, bulk vending machines that dispense toys in capsules have also been existence for nearly a century. In this long period of time, capsules have been made in a variety of shapes and sizes. Traditionally, such capsules had an acorn shape, such as is exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 2,858,955 to Kroenert, entitled Merchandise Capsules. However, in more recent times, round capsules have become more popular, such as those exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,438 to Kovens, entitled Spherical Dispensing Capsule.
Throughout the long history of both suction cup toys and capsules for holding toys, there have certainly been situations where a suction cup toy has been packaged within a toy capsule. However, if such a pairing has happened, the suction cup toy was certainly packaged completely within the capsule; having no part of the toy extending from the capsule. This is due to prior art capsules for toys having solid surfaces that were used to envelop and protect the inner packaged toy.
The applicant has developed a new capsule design that works in conjunction with a suction cup toy to produce an integrated assembly that has play value beyond that of just the suction cup toy or the capsule. This new design is described and claimed below.